Allana L Ross Annotations

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What does this visualization (including caption) say about toxics?

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 - 8:48pm

The visualization emphasizes the porosity of barriers we take for granted. Toxicity flows from factories to water, water to fish, and fish to humans, cycling through visibility and invisibility along the way. Contamination is alterately acknowledged, blamed, ignored, or denied depending on situational risks to markets and incomes.

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Can you suggest ways to enrich this image to extend its ethnographic import?

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 - 8:46pm

Again, I can't. The image, in combination with the caption, very effectively communicates the relationships between bodies, resources, landscape, and toxics.

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What kind of image is this? Is it a found image or created by the ethnographer (or a combination)? What is notable about its composition | scale of attention | aesthetic?

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 - 8:44pm

I assume the image is taken by the author. The composition is a bit central, but the image is thoughtfully composed. The materiality of the vessel is highlighted, the fresh fish shine, and the bodies of the fishers are anonymous, silhouetted against a fog of industry.

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Can you suggest ways to elaborate the caption of this visualization to extend its ethnographic message?

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 - 8:43pm

I really can't. The caption beautifully captures what is happening in the image, visible or not.

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How does this visualization (including caption) advance ethnographic insight? What message | argument | sentiment | etc. does this visualization communicate or represent?

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 - 8:42pm

This visualization muddies the boundaries between body and landscape, illustrating how toxicity can flow between their porous barriers. The caption elucidates the contradictions of living with toxicity under capitalism: the fishers lament their reduced harvest since the river has become polluted but will not acknowledge that their product could be contamintated.

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What does this visualization (including caption) say about toxics?

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 - 8:38pm

This visualization emphasizes the slippage between the body and the landscape as toxicity can flow between the two. It underscores the porosity of barriers we take for granted. Contaminants flow from industry to water, from water to fish, from fish to humans, through cycles of visibility and invisibility. Contamination is alternately acknowledged, denied, or ignored depending on the risks posed to livelihoods and markets.

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Can you suggest ways to enrich this image to extend its ethnographic import?

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 - 8:32pm

I really can't. The image tells a rich story: I can see the fish, the harvest that will become commodity, freshly drawn from a landscape whose toxicity is implied by the industrial background. It's clear what is going on and the composition itself is pleasing.

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What kind of image is this? Is it a found image or created by the ethnographer (or a combination)? What is notable about its composition | scale of attention | aesthetic?

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 - 8:29pm

I assume the image is taken by the author. It is thoughtfully composed, revealing the structure and materiality of the vessel as well placing the fishers against the background of industry. They are silhouettes, obscured by darkness, but bodily against the fog.

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Can you suggest ways to elaborate the caption of this visualization to extend its ethnographic message?

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 - 8:27pm

I can't. The caption explains the image while posing relevant questions about the (in)visibility of toxicity in the daily lives and markets of the community. 

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How does this visualization (including caption) advance ethnographic insight? What message | argument | sentiment | etc. does this visualization communicate or represent?

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 - 8:23pm

This visualization muddies the distinctions between the body and the landscape. The caption further elucidates the contradictions in toxicity under capitalism: while the fishers lament the decreased harvest since the river has become polluted, they reject the idea that the product they are selling could be contaminated.

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